Kill the Bill protestors rally across London
Protesters rallied across central London today against a policing bill that could see officers handed sweeping powers to curb the right to protest.
Demonstrators flocked to Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park and Westminster this afternoon following marches in Finsbury Park last night, in what has been dubbed a National Week of Action against the new proposals.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which passed its second reading in parliament last month, will alter existing legislation to make it easier for police to ban or shut down peaceful protests if they are considered too disruptive.
Opponents have claimed the bill will amount to an attack on the right to protest, marking a slippery slope towards tougher state control.
Kill the Bill protests are also planned in 24 other towns and cities across England and Wales this weekend, including Bristol, Liverpool, Cardiff and Oxford.
Several organisations have pledged their support for the demonstrations including climate change activists Extinction Rebellion, United Black Lives UK and Sisters Uncut.
The first Kill the Bill protest in Bristol on March 21 descended into a riot, with subsequent rallies on March 23 and 26 also ending in clashes between the police and protesters.
The UK has seen a swathe of protests in recent weeks after police were accused of being too heavy-handed at the vigil for Sarah Everard last month.
Everard, 33, was killed after walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham on 3 March. A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with her murder.
Boris Johnson said he was “deeply concerned” after footage showed police pinning women to the ground in a bid to break up crowds at the vigil for Everard, with a picture of attendee Patsy Stevenson being arrested widely circulated.
A report from the official policing inspectorate concluded that the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the vigil Sarah was “appropriate”.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said he accepted the findings of the report, while adding that it was “clear that trust and confidence of women and girls in the police and criminal justice system is far from adequate”.
Hundreds of people took to the streets of London this afternoon in protest of sexual harassment against women as part of the “97 Per Cent March”.
A survey conducted by UN Women UK found that 97 per cent of women between the ages of 18 and 24 have been the victim of sexual harassment.
Placards carried by protesters included slogans such as “educate your sons,” “misogyny is the virus,” and “girls just wanna have fun-damental human rights”.